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April 21, 2011

An Open House is set for April 28, 4 to 6
p.m., to showcase the businesses and organizations housed in the
old MonroeBankBuilding,
located adjacent to the Monroe County Courthouse. Shown, from
left, are: Alana Hendershot, Mechelle VanDyne and Lisa Matz of
Medi Home Health and Hospice; Nikki Baker, Heritage Financial
and Investment Services; Tammy Jones, Monroe Soil and Water;
Sylvia Bowen, Tri-County Help Center; and Ruth Workman, Monroe
County Chamber and CIC. Also featured will be American Legion
Post 87.
Photo by Martha Ackerman

Hosted by the Monroe Coun-ty Chamber of
Commerce, an open house is being planned for those businesses
and agencies housed in the old Monroe Bank Building, located
adjacent to the Monroe County Court-house. Members of the
businesses and organizations will be on hand April 28, from 4 to
6 p.m. to acquaint visitors with their respective offices.

Opening their doors to the public will be
American Legion Post 87, Heritage Financial and Investment
Services, Monroe County Chamber of Com-merce, Monroe County
Com-munity Improvement Corpora-tion, Medi Home Health and
Hospice, Monroe Soil and Water Conservation and TriCountyHelpCenter.
Refresh-ments will be served in the Octagon Room at the top of
the building. If you’ve never been in this room, the view is
wonderful.

Financial Advisor Nikki Baker, CFP®, ChFC,
owner of Heritage Financial and Investment Services, LLC, will
be celebrating the grand opening of her new office on the third
floor, Suite
22 , of the historic
building. Baker will be offering information on how to plan for
retirement and investments for those already retired, investment
opportunities for CD buyers and also strategies for maximizing
and understanding Social Security benefits. She will also have
information for those interested in opening 529 College Savings
Accounts and much more. Securities are offered through LPL
Financial, member FINRA/SIPC.

The Monroe County Cham-ber of Commerce is
a countywide organization to help area businesses. “We provide
information by phone, in person, e-mail or on the website,” said
Ruth Workman, Chamber secretary. “We provide maps, relocation
information, phone books, brochures on area businesses and
events, a website with calendar information and information on
our Chamber members. We have a bi-monthly newsletter showcasing
new and existing businesses as well as area events. The Chamber
holds ribbon cuttings to welcome new businesses, hosts Business
After Hours and open houses. Our office is located on the first
floor of the MonroeBankBuilding
with the entrance on the alley between the bank and the
courthouse.”

The Monroe County Community Improvement
Corporation processes Revolving Loan and Micro Loan funds for
the county. These funds are provided by the State of Ohio
Department of Development. Loans are available for new and
existing businesses in MonroeCounty.
The CIC supports county businesses and helps refer callers to
pertinent phone numbers and locations. The office is located
within the Chamber office on the first floor of the MonroeBankBuilding.

Medi Home Health and Hospice has a skilled
professional staff trained to provide comprehensive care to
address patient specific needs in the comfort of their own
homes. The team includes skilled nursing, enterstomal/ wound
care, diabetic information, physical therapy, speech language
pathology, diet information, medical social worker and home
health aides. Medi Hospice provides a specialized program of
care for patients and their families who are facing
life-limiting illnesses.

Monroe Soil and Water Conservation
District was formed in 1943 as a result of the Dust Bowl. For
the past 68 years, the district has served the conservation
needs of MonroeCounty
landowners. The district is governed by five volunteer board
members serving staggered three-year terms. Currently there are
two employees who work in the areas of forestry, wildlife,
technical assistance and education. In 2008, the Monroe SWCD
moved to the former MonroeBankBuilding.
“Our office is located on the third floor and we are eager to
continue to working with landowners in the county,” said Tammy
Jones, program manager.

Sylvia Bowen will be on hand at Tri-CountyHelpCenter.
The HelpCenter
provides professional counseling along with crisis intervention,
shelter, sexual assault programs, advocacy, community education
and much more to residents of Monroe, Belmont and Harrison
counties, regardless of income.

Members of American Legion Post 87 will also
be available to provide visitors with information.

This open house is a great chance for
visitors to learn more about the various businesses and
organizations housed in the former MonroeBankBuilding,
an historic landmark. The Monroe County Bank was organized in
1872 and operated under that name for two years. Then, according
to Stanley
and Theresa Maienknecht’s Monroe County,
Ohio:
A History, Samuel L. Mooney (1830-1916) reorganized, renamed it
the Monroe Bank and became its first president.

Gary Rubel is the present owner and has been
refurbishing the building.

Approximately 100 people have flocked to
the Marty and Bob Hines residence, off SR800 south of
Woodsfield, to see this bird, which is making a rare appearance
in Ohio.
It’s usual habitat is west of the Mississippi.
More in next week’s Beacon.

If you don’t like the way life looks, change
the way you look at life.

Happy day! The sun is shining bright, the
grass is growing and I plan to mow our lawn if I can’t think of
something to change my mind. I do have to wait until it dries.

I guess maybe it’s because I taught school
and have an interest in what’s going on, I like to read the
board news that includes concerns folks have regarding our
district building program for the new schools. You hear things
and sometimes wonder is it true or maybe how can that be true?

You know it would be interesting after all
the schools are completed and the students are attending the new
facilities for a time to dig out and read some of the board news
as the building program was being done. I would guess our
district will be the envy of a number of districts across the
state.

The basketball season is over for another
year except the pros. I’m not into the pro basketball games. In
fact, I would as soon watch grass grow as watch a pro basketball
game. This brings up a problem. I really spent a lot of my time
this year in my easy chair watching college basketball games. I
didn’t miss any NCIS programs however. My problem now is what
programs do we watch now that the season is over? I do get a bit
tired of watching NCIS reruns. Big Ten has a good many college
sports telecast but they do not carry enough OSU games.

This reminds me. I turned to an OhioState
baseball game the other week and Derek Hannahs, Mitch’s son, was
playing second base. This should perk up some interest. There is
also a young man from FortFrye
playing shortstop.

I got to see a smartboard for the first time
a couple of weeks ago. Scared me for a second or two. A great
big white thing hanging on the wall where a blackboard normally
is placed. It had a bunch of knobs and things along the bottom
edge and a big old thing out from the wall above it. I think
maybe to project information on the smartboard. Quite a rig.

I know the smartboard or white board is one
of the technology outfits that gives the teacher a chance to do
a better job. I’m sure it probably lives up to all
expectations.

I know I’m old fashioned and maybe set in my
ways, but I sure am glad I didn’t have one of those hanging on
my classroom wall when I was teaching although it may have
improved my teaching. I doubt if I would have been able to
operate the thing. What I taught I was able to scribble on the
blackboard. It’s tough to teach an old dog new tricks.

As a passing thought, I think maybe if
there was a smartboard, like we had in our classroom at Fairview,
hanging beside the smartboard today it might increase its value
even if many students would ask “What’s that?”

Well, that’s done! The first mowing of the
lawn. It wasn’t without some problems to get underway. I guess
maybe it was because I was such a wise guy about mowing lawns.

First off our mower wouldn’t start. I would
have thought after the orange tune-up I would not have any
problems. Wrong! I pulled our car up near the mower; after a few
words of encouragement it started after charging the battery a
while. I remembered I needed to be perched on the seat to get it
started. What I forgot was I needed to be on the seat to keep it
running. A safety feature.

I started the mower and climbed off and the
mower stopped running. A safety feature. I did this about three
times and a few more words of encouragement and it dawned on me
what was happening. So I hung up the jumper cable, backed the
car out of the way, started the mower, backed out of our little
building and was off to mowing grass.

Everything was going fine until I tried to
back up. When I tried the engine started to quit. I wondered why
because I had backed out of our building by pressing on the
bottom of the gas feed or whatever it is that makes it go. After
trying to back up a few times I did remember I needed to push a
red button that flashes to allow me to back u p while the blades
are operating. Another safety feature. I pushed the button, no
problem I was off to mowing grass.

Now, I have a good friend that could take
care of the safety features in about 10 minutes or less. I don’t
think I’ll bother him now that I finally remembered all of this.
Happy mowing.

Five million Ohioans agree: organ donation
saves lives. Donate Life Month is a perfect time to announce
that there are now more than five million registered organ and
tissue donors in the Ohio Donor Registry! This achievement makes
it clear that Ohioans understand the need for donors and are
starting to take action.

I would like to thank each and every
licensed driver or state I.D. holder who has registered as a
donor! Your pledge to give life after death provides hope to the
110,000 Americans - including 3,300 Ohioans - waiting on a
life-saving organ transplant.

For those who have not signed up yet, we
hope you will join our movement to give the “Gift of Life”. By
joining the Ohio Donor Registry, you have the potential to save
eight lives through organ donation and enhance up to 50 lives
through tissue donation. Donation will not affect funeral plans,
there is no cost to donate and your medical care will never be
compromised because of your status as a donor.

Your action can help us prevent 18 men,
women and children from dying every day when an organ transplant
doesn’t come in time. One Ohioan dies every other day while
waiting.

Signing up is easy. You can register at your
local BMV, go online to www.lifelineofohio.org. or call
800-525-5667 to register through a paper form.

Be a part of the movement to save lives in
Ohio!
Register today as an organ and tissue donor.

Kent Holloway, CEO

Lifeline of Ohio,
Columbus

Dear Editor,

This letter to the editor is in response to
the letter in last week’s Beacon regarding the Know Show Easter
Egg Hunt.

When I started the Easter Egg Hunt three
years ago we purchased 500 eggs and put candy and prize slips in
the eggs and let the kids hunt for them. When the prize slips
were turned in some children got two prizes and some got 20
prizes, which seemed unfair; some kids are older or faster and
can collect more eggs, also some parents cheated and gave their
children blank pieces of paper to turn in for prizes, so we ran
out of our counted prizes. In discussing this at our board
meeting we decided we needed to be more fair and give all the
children equal prizes, so it was suggested to follow the way one
of the local churches does their Easter Egg Hunt and have the
children turn in their eggs and give them bags of goodies that
had equal prizes. Also we would save money by not having to
purchase 500 eggs each year. We do have to take time to bag up
250 bags to make sure we have one for each child.

We do this Easter Egg Hunt as a community
function and really try to make it as fair as possible but
evidently not everyone agrees. We spend hard earned money from
both the Chamber and Kiwanis Club in putting this event on each
year. Now what do we do? Stop the Easter Egg Hunt altogether and
then no one gets anything, when all we are trying to do is make
it fun for the kids. Sometimes you wonder if it is even worth it
to continue community events; we get criticized because we don’t
use judges for the Christmas Window Decorating contest and let
the community vote but then get criticized because we do use
judges for the Christmas Festival Parade. As one Chamber board
member stated “No good deed goes unpunished.”

The steady downpour April 16 brought high
water and flooding to MonroeCounty.
This picture shows the water covering parts of Main Street,
Cameron. While this photo was being taken, County employees were
contemplating the best way to get equipment through to a repair
a slip on CR5, Atkinson Run. According to Bruce Jones, county
superintendent, equipment was taken through the water and the
mudslide cleaned from CR5. He also said the county lost half the
road on a portion of CR15, Witten Creek Road.
Piling will be installed to correct the damage. Ackerman Photo

“The reason this plant is here and is
competitive is the electricity rates,” said Griffin.
“Power costs have driven some smelters out of business.” Ormet
gets its power from AEP. “We have a 10 year contract that
provides us with a competitive rate over the term of the
contract.” That power contract went into effect in 2010. “Ormet
uses the equivalent of the city of Pittsburgh
24/7. We’re largest electrical load that AEP has in its entire
company through all the states..”

Electricity and manpower are essential in
making aluminum. The current labor contract was extended a year
and half ago and expires on May 31. Does Griffin
think new contract is in sight? “We work together,” said Griffin.
“I’m very confident both sides will listen to each other and we
will reach a good resolution that is good for everybody. I’m
confident.

“There have been people that have come to
me and said that they have worked at Ormet for 25 years and did
not want to come to work but they like it now. I’ve had a lot of
people say that. It’s so simple,” said Griffin.
“Treat people fairly and honestly and they respond. I don’t know
why people didn’t get it in the past; it’s so simple, but people
didn’t get it. Now instead of the effort going into disagreeing
it’s going into making this place a viable business. The
results show it; the efficiency is the highest since 1958. We
have the lowest power consumption in the history of the plant.
It all means a lower cost of operating that helps us survive.”

Results have been extremely positive for
the plant. Every year new records for efficiency standards are
broken. “We’re probably one of the most efficient plants in the
U.S.
We have 1958 technology and doing better than just about any
plant in the U.S.
on a consistent basis. It hasn’t been investment in new
equipment; it’s been 100 percent of people working together and
doing a good job. That’s been the key. It’s the working
relationship with the Steelworkers. We work through the
problems. It’s not a perfect world but people understand when a
change has to be made. We had to shut down a couple potlines in
2009 because of external circumstances, but everybody
understood.” Changes were made in June 2007 with three new
officers in the company: Mike Tanchuk, CEO and president; James
Riley, CFO and Griffin
as the vice-president of operations. Other than two other
people, the plant manager and controller, everyone is
essentially the same, noted Griffin.
No new executive personnel have been brought in. Openness and
talking about things brought about changes. “We’ve got to get 95
percent of the people who want to be here. We tell them the
changes we have to make and this is the reason why. Everybody
understands the business case now. Before it was don’t ask
questions, just do it; now there is lots of explaining done and
people understand. That wasn’t done in the past.

“There have been dramatic changes over the
past three years,” continued Griffin.
“Safety is very important. We’ve dramatically reduced the number
of serious injuries. We have a great safety committee in place
consisting of a joint committee of management and union that
functions very well. They solve problems. People didn’t do that
in the past. The safety committee does audits, talks to people,
finds the problems and solves them and then fixes them. Safety
is a big concern. The committee started with a documented list
of thousands of issues. That list is now small and we get 95
percent of them completed. If something is unsafe and it gets
fixed, it gives union safety reps credibility.”

Read more on Beacon’s Ormet tour in upcoming
editions.

There has been some profit sharing in the
plant as the company does well, there is a profit sharing
program that has had payouts in the past. According to Griffin,
everybody has the potential to earn above the base wages as the
plant does well. “In my mind money is not a huge motivator,” he
said. “It’s short term; if someone hates their job, it’s not
going to matter what you pay them.”

“Electricity is such a key thing for us
and is a primary reason why are we are here and operating
competitively. There is nothing we can do to make our aluminum
better than that made in other countries.” Ormet competes
pound-for-pound in the world commodity market. The plants that
stay in business are those that can produce aluminum
economically to compete in the world market, noted Griffin.
Companies survive that can produce and sell aluminum at a
profit.

“Our power contract with AEP helped us
survive through difficult times and we scaled right back up to
full capacity,” noted Griffin.
“We tend to sell our metal for forward prices.” Ormet metal is
sold to metal companies and commodities traders. “We deal in a
world market. Little Hannibal
has to deal with commodities in the world market. We do a lot of
business in China.
We buy a lot of raw materials in China,
which is just becoming an importer of aluminum because the
increased cost of electricity in that country.

In a typical day, Ormet uses three million
pounds of alumina, the white powdery raw material substance used
to make aluminum, and 800,000 pounds of carbon block from China.
From that Ormet produces 1.6 million pounds of molten aluminum
per day. The only product Ormet produces is 1500 pound sows,
which are shipped by truck and barge. All metal is remelted by
other manufacturers to make the aluminum products. Ormet makes
no finished products in Hannibal.

Only about .4 percent of total production is
lost to scrap. It is recycled and processed. Previously Ormet
used to have more scrap, around 400,000 pounds of scrap a day
which was lost value. Now Ormet’s scrap ranges from six-10,000
pounds a day versus the 400,000 pounds previously when there was
a big hit in loss of value. “It all has to do the people in the
plant. It was no new investment in equipment, just people
figuring out new and better ways to do the job. This plant used
to keep an entire other business running in scrap but now it is
minimal.

“We are now $19 million a year favorable
on the cost side because what people have done here. The plant
is running that more efficiently,” said Griffin.
It hasn’t come from a reduction in labor. It’s been in getting
efficient and has come from being smart how we use our labor,
along with electricity contract.

Griffin
has 28 years experience in the aluminum industry. He started in
an aluminum smelter just out of college. He worked his way up
through different jobs and has done most of the jobs. He knows
the industry from the ground up. He believes he is on job
number 29 in his career, some in the same plant with promotions.
“It’s all been fun,” he said.

During an extensive tour of Ormet, we
visited the rectifier facility that changes AC into DC to power
the pots. “It’s the heart and the brain of the facility,” said
Griffin,
who introduced Rodney Brown, Jack Crihfield, Tim Buegel and
Kerry LeMasters. “These guys do an incredible job with equipment
that is over 50 years old,” said the vice-president.

A huge dry scrubber system, monitored in a
control room 24/7, keeps the plant 50 percent below minimum
environmental standards. Our current permit limit is 2.7 and we
are running at 1.4, noted Griffin.
Bruce Blackstone of Lewisville
was in the control room as we toured the plant. He was training
Aaron Harmon of New Matamoras.

In prior years in addition to the metal
sows, billets were made and sold. According to Griffin,
that portion of the plant was deemed not profitable and shut
down. Employees were moved to other positions within the plant.

Griffin
explained that the metal in the yard is all sold through locked
in contracts “We’re not gambling with the market,” he added.

Ormet has survived the bad times and the
present administrators are looking forward to a productive
future at the Hannibal
facility. It is a credit to Ormet’s administration and its
employees that in a time in this country when unemployment rates
are at their highest and the country’s outlook is not really
that favorable, there are over 1,000 men and women going to work
at good paying jobs in Monroe County, Ohio.

Mike Griffin, vice-president of operations
at Ormet’s Hannibal
facility, shows the pot control panel. The panel controls the
pot voltage and raw material feed to maximize production
efficiency.

HENRY
WINLAND Henry Taylor Winland, 87, 40470 Sandbar
Rd., Lewisville (Sycamore Valley community) died April 12, 2011
at the V.A. Medical Center in Huntington, W.Va. He was born
Sept. 22, 1923 at Zanesville,
a son of the late Hiram H. and Lillian Hamler Winland.

He was a retired dairy farmer, a U.S. Army
veteran of WWII and a faithful member of the Hines Chapel Church
of Christ near SycamoreValley.
He was also a member of the National Farmers Association; the
National Rifleman’s Association; a former director of the Black
Walnut Festival; and a member of the Old Iron Power Club.

He enjoyed woodworking and built the world’s
largest lathe-turned rolling pin which is in the Guinness Book
of World Records. He also enjoyed spending time with his family,
telling stories, hunting and flying ultra-light airplanes.

Surviving are his wife of 65 years, Mary
R. Gosling Winland, whom he married on March 24, 1946; four
sons, Wayne Winland, Donald Winland, Tom (Peg) Winland, Jeff
(Donna) Winland, all of SycamoreValley;
10 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren.

In addition to his parents, he was preceded
in death by two daughters-in-law, Karen Winland and Debbie
Winland.

Friends were received April 15 at Watters
Funeral Home, Woodsfield, where funeral services were held April
16, with Vernon Crum officiating. Burial followed in HinesChapelCemetery
near SycamoreValley,
with full military graveside services.

JOHN
W. LUMBATISJohn W. Lumbatis, 68, Lewisville,
formerly of Howard, passed away April 12, 2011 at OhioValleyMedicalCenter,
Wheeling,
W.Va.,
surrounded by his family, after a short battle with lung cancer.
He was born Oct. 16, 1942 in Bath,
a son of Alice McGarry Lumbatis of Howard, and the late Willard
Earl Lumbatis.

He was a retired mechanic for the Knox
County Highway Department and was a U.S. Air Force veteran. He
was an employee of the Monroe County Beacon, worked as a driver
for the MonroeCountyCareCenter
and was an oilfield worker.

Surviving, in addition to his mother, are
his wife, Carol Garinger Lumbatis of Lewisville, whom he married
in 1962; children, Richard (Deb) Lumbatis of Nellie, Douglas
(Marie) Lumbatis of Howard, Mark (Victoria) Lumbatis of Utica,
Melanie (Danny) Bass of Dayton, Texas; a brother, Edward (Sue)
Lumbatis of Wisconsin; 18 grandchildren and four
great-grandchildren.

Friends were received April 14 at
Bauer-Turner Funeral Home, Woodsfield, where services were held
April 15, with Gene Lilly officiating. Burial was in FriendshipCemetery,
Lewisville.